NFC WEST ST. LOUIS 2014 STRENGTHS: • Offensive line, defensive line, coaching Rams Offense Sam Bradford is on the IR after retearing his left ACL, so offensive production will fall on the shoulders of Shaun Hill. Hill has thrown just 16 passes since 2010 when he coverd for injured Matthew Stafford as the Detroit Lions starting QB. Zac Stacy is the running back people know only because he carries the ball more than all the other runners combined, though does so at less than four yards per carry. Tavon Austin is the next great hope on a receiving corps that normally takes other teams’ discards and tries to make something out of them. With this type of typical game plan, the Rams have not had a winning season since 2003. But if any head coach can take a talent-deprived, chemistrydepleted team back to the playoffs, it is third-year Rams head coach Jeff Fisher, who once transformed Tennessee from an 8-8/7-9 franchise their first five years together into a six-time playoff team in his last dozen years there, garnering 10-to-13 2014 WEAKNESSES: • Conservative play-calling, non-threatening offense, lack of continuity RAMS wins six times. If he is indeed building something in St. Louis, it is an ever-improving O-line. The Rams’ offensive line ranked 12th while running and 14th when passing in 2013, giving St. Louis’ skilled positioned players belief that a foundation is indeed in place. Now if only some of these prospects started delivering on their potential. Bradford (26 years old), Stacy (23) and Austin (23) are making doubters out of most. One thing the experts don’t worry much about is the offensive line, where the left side is manned by four-time Pro Bowl left tackle Jake Long and No. DILIP VISHWANAT/GETTY IMAGES SPORT two pick in the 2014 NFL Draft Greg Robinson, and the right side is controlled well by Joe Barksdale and Rodger Saffold. The house may look boring, but at least the foundation is solid. Offensive Player to Watch Watch Jake Long. If he is healthy, it is tough to find a better left tackle in the game. In 2013, he wasn’t healthy. He was still Pro Bowl material, just not All-Pro left tackle like he was in 2010. That’s what happens when you play through a recovering ACL/MCL injury, as he did in 2013. For insurance, the Rams made left guard Greg Robinson the No. 2 pick in the 2014 NFL Draft, ready to move the rookie over should Long need to ever rest and recover. If Long is healthy and Robinson, an All-American left tackle at Auburn, quickly learns his new position, St. Louis will have one heckuva left side to run on. Which, of course, will lead to better numbers than last year (4.11 yards-per-carry on the left end and 4.14 around left tackle—ranking 11th in the NFL in both categories). Robert Quinn
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